Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising technology to convert complex organic wastes into biocrude oil: a sustainable, energy-dense fuel precursor. Many studies have demonstrated that mixing HTL feedstocks, including food waste and lignocellulosic biomass, frequently enables new chemical pathways which increase biocrude yields. However, the impact of feedstock composition on product yield and quality remains poorly understood, particularly for mixed-feed reactions. In this study, food waste was mixed in varying ratios with model compounds representing the three primary fractions of lignocellulosic biomass (lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose) and reacted under standard HTL conditions. Evidence of emergent chemistry was identified for all three fractions of biomass, including the emergence of fatty acid methyl esters for mixtures of food waste and lignin. Strong biocrude yield synergy was only identified for cellulose and hemicellulose, which is likely attributable to Maillard reactions. Comparison of experimental product yields to previous results highlighted the complexity of lignocellulose. The performance of a random forest model was also further validated for the prediction of mixed-feed HTL biocrude yields.

Creator

• Kauffman, Skyler

Contributori

• Teixeira, Andrew R.
• Timko, Michael T.
• Maag, Alex R.

Degree

• MS

Unit

• Chemical Engineering

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• etd-121531

Parola chiave

• Cellulose
• Food Waste
• Co-Hydrothermal Liquefaction
• HTL
• Xylan
• Lignin

Advisor

• Timko, Michael T.

Committee

• Maag, Alex R.
• Timko, Michael T.
• Teixeira, Andrew R.

Defense date

• 2024-04-22

Year

• 2024

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

Date created

• 2024-04-24

Resource type

• Thesis

Source

• etd-121531

Rights statement

• In Copyright